Recipients' Satisfaction with Locally Procured Food Aid Rations: Comparative Evidence from a Three Country Matched Survey

Using survey data from natural experiments in three countries that simultaneously received food aid sourced locally and from the United States, we test the hypothesis that locally-sourced commodities are more culturally appropriate and thus preferred over traditional food aid commodities sourced from the donor country. We use a semi-nonparametric regression method to estimate recipients' satisfaction with these commodities across a range of criteria. We establish that recipients of locally procured rations are generally more satisfied with the commodities they receive than are recipients of US-sourced foods. This pattern is especially pronounced among less-well-off recipients. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using contingent valuation to estimate willingness to pay for improved water source in rural Uganda

This research was conducted in August of 2011 in the villages of Kigisu and Rubona in rural Uganda while the author was serving as a community health volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps. The study used the contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate the populations’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the operation and maintenance of an improved water source. The survey was administered to 122 households out of 400 in the community, gathering demographic information, health and water behaviors, and using an iterative bidding process to estimate WTP. Households indicated a mean WTP of 286 Ugandan Shillings (UGX) per 20 liters for a public tap and 202 UGX per 20 liters from a private tap. The data were also analyzed using an ordered probit model. It was determined that the number of children in the home, and the distance from the existing source were the primary variables influencing households’ WTP.

A model of factors determining levels of public support for health care policy in the United States

Public preferences for policy are formed in a little-understood process that is not adequately described by traditional economic theory of choice. In this paper I suggest that U.S. aggregate support for health reform can be modeled as tradeoffs among a small number of behavioral values and the stage of policy development. The theory underlying the model is based on Samuelson, et al.'s (1986) work and Wilke's (1991) elaboration of it as the Greed/Efficiency/Fairness (GEF) hypothesis of motivation in the management of resource dilemmas, and behavioral economics informed by Kahneman and Thaler's prospect theory. ^ The model developed in this paper employs ordered probit econometric techniques applied to data derived from U.S. polls taken from 1990 to mid-2003 that measured support for health reform proposals. Outcome data are four-tiered Likert counts; independent variables are dummies representing the presence or absence of operationalizations of each behavioral variable, along with an integer representing policy process stage. Marginal effects of each independent variable predict how support levels change on triggering that variable. Model estimation results indicate a vanishingly small likelihood that all coefficients are zero and all variables have signs expected from model theory. ^ Three hypotheses were tested: support will drain from health reform policy as it becomes increasingly well-articulated and approaches enactment; reforms appealing to fairness through universal health coverage will enjoy a higher degree of support than those targeted more narrowly; health reforms calling for government operation of the health finance system will achieve lower support than those that do not. Model results support the first and last hypotheses. Contrary to expectations, universal health care proposals did not provide incremental support beyond those targeted to “deserving” populations—children, elderly, working families. In addition, loss of autonomy (e.g. restrictions on choice of care giver) is found to be the “third rail” of health reform with significantly-reduced support. When applied to a hypothetical health reform in which an employer-mandated Medical Savings Account policy is the centerpiece, the model predicts support that may be insufficient to enactment. These results indicate that the method developed in the paper may prove valuable to health policy designers. ^

Fertility and rural electrification in Bangladesh

We use a panel dataset from Bangladesh to examine the relationship between fertility and the adoption of electricity with the latter instrumented by infrastructure development and the quality of service delivery. We find that the adoption of electricity reduces fertility, and this impact is more pronounced when the household already has two or more children. This observation can be explained by a simple household model of time use, in which adoption of electricity affects only the optimal number of children but not necessarily current fertility behavior if the optimal number has not yet been reached.

Knowledge acquisition in international strategic alliances among Malaysian manufacturing firms

This thesis examines the process of knowledge acquisition by Malaysian manufacturing firms through their involvement in international strategic alliances. The strategic alliances can be with or without equity involvement. Firms involved with a foreign partner with equity involvement are joint venture firms while non-equity involvement are firms that engaged in contractual agreements. Using empirical evidence from 65 international alliances gathered through a survey conducted in high-technology manufacturing sectors, several factors that influence the process of knowledge acquisition are examined. The factors are: learning capacity, experience, goals, active involvement and accessibility to the foreign knowledge. Censored regression analysis and ordered probit analysis are used to analyse the effects of these factors on knowledge acquisition and its determinant parts, and the effects of knowledge acquisition and its determinants on the performance of the alliances. A second questionnaire gathered evidence relating to the factors, which encouraged tacit knowledge transfer between the foreign and Malaysian partners in international alliances. The key findings of the study are: knowledge acquisition in international strategic alliances is influenced by five determining factors; learning capacity, experience, articulated goals, active involvement and accessibility; new technology knowledge, product development knowledge and manufacturing process knowledge are influenced differently by the determining factors; knowledge acquisition and its determinant factors have a significant impact on the firm’s performance; cultural differences tend to moderate the effect on the firm’s performance; acquiring tacit knowledge is not only influenced by the five determinant factors but also by other factors, such as dependency, accessibility, trust, manufacturing control, learning methods and organisational systems; Malaysian firms involved in joint ventures tend to acquire more knowledge than those involved in contractual agreements, but joint ventures also exhibit higher degrees of dependency than contractual agreements; and the presence of R&D activity in the Malaysian partner encourages knowledge acquisition, but the amount of R&D expenditure has no effect on knowledge acquisition.

Growth expectations of business owners:impact of human capital, firm characteristics and environmental transition

This paper presents an empirical study based on a survey of 399 owners of small and medium size companies in Lithuania. Applying bivariate and ordered probit estimators, we investigate why some business owners expect their firms to expand, while others do not. Our main findings provide evidence that SME owner's generic and specific human capital matter. Those with higher education and 'learning by doing' attributes, either through previous job experience or additional entrepreneurial experience, expect their businesses to expand. The expectations of growth are positively related to exporting and non-monotonically to enterprise size. In addition, we analyse the link between the perceptions of constraints to business activities and growth expectations and find that the factors, which are perceived as main business barriers, are not necessary those which are associated with reduced growth expectations. In particular, perceptions of both corruption and of inadequate tax systems seem to affect growth expectations the most.

Value creation and appropriation through the Hungarian SME’s food chain

Value creation is the result of the continuous innovation activity of the entrepreneur, which is carried out mainly in form of open innovation among the agri-food SMEs. However value creation is not the ultimate goal of the enterprises. They are more interested in increased appropriation of the created value. Although the value creation (innovation) is very well explored and cultivated area of research, there are some voids in the field of agriculture and food industry: the behavioural aspect of open innovation is very rare. The value capturing is even much less studied, therefor our research approach is largely explorative one. Data are drawn from a survey carried out in Hungary among the agri-food SMEs in 2014. We use Structural Equation Modelling as well as ordered probit and semi-non parametric ordered probit models for analysing the data. Our results show that there is positive relationship between the knowledge sharing with chain partners and the innovativeness. We could explore that size of the firm, absorptive capacity and openness to foreign trade ambiguously affects value capturing. However trust in chain partners, reciprocity in knowledge sharing with chain partners and willingness to cooperate with buyers positively influence the appropriation of the created value.

A recessionary debate: who suffered more? A study of sectoral well-being and economic insecurity in Ireland

The aim of this thesis is to identify the relationship between subjective well-being and economic insecurity for public and private sector workers in Ireland using the European Social Survey 2010-2012. Life satisfaction and job satisfaction are the indicators used to measure subjective well-being. Economic insecurity is approximated by regional unemployment rates and self-perceived job insecurity. Potential sample selection bias and endogeneity bias are accounted for. It is traditionally believed that public sector workers are relatively more protected against insecurity due to very institution of public sector employment. The institution of public sector employment is made up of stricter dismissal practices (Luechinger et al., 2010a) and less volatile employment (Freeman, 1987) where workers are subsequently less likely to be affected by business cycle downturns (Clark and Postal-Vinay, 2009). It is found in the literature that economic insecurity depresses the well-being of public sector workers to a lesser degree than private sector workers (Luechinger et al., 2010a; Artz and Kaya, 2014). These studies provide the rationale for this thesis in testing for similar relationships in an Irish context. Sample selection bias arises when a selection into a particular category is not random (Heckman, 1979). An example of this is non-random selection into public sector employment based on personal characteristics (Heckman, 1979; Luechinger et al., 2010b). If selection into public sector employment is not corrected for this can lead to biased and inconsistent estimators (Gujarati, 2009). Selection bias of public sector employment is corrected for by using a standard Two-Step Heckman Probit OLS estimation method. Following Luechinger et al. (2010b), the propensity for individuals to select into public sector employment is estimated by a binomial probit model with the inclusion of the additional regressor Irish citizenship. Job satisfaction is then estimated by Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) with the inclusion of a sample correction term similar as is done in Clark (1997). Endogeneity is where an independent variable included in the model is determined within in the context of the model (Chenhall and Moers, 2007). The econometric definition states that an endogenous independent variable is one that is correlated with the error term (Wooldridge, 2010). Endogeneity is expected to be present due to a simultaneous relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction whereby both variables are jointly determined (Theodossiou and Vasileiou, 2007). Simultaneity, as an instigator of endogeneity, is corrected for using Instrumental Variables (IV) techniques. Limited Information Methods and Full Information Methods of estimation of simultaneous equations models are assed and compared. The general results show that job insecurity depresses the subjective well-being of all workers in both the public and private sectors in Ireland. The magnitude of this effect differs among sectoral workers. The subjective well-being of private sector workers is more adversely affected by job insecurity than the subjective well-being of public sector workers. This is observed in basic ordered probit estimations of both a life satisfaction equation and a job satisfaction equation. The marginal effects from the ordered probit estimation of a basic job satisfaction equation show that as job insecurity increases the probability of reporting a 9 on a 10-point job satisfaction scale significantly decreases by 3.4% for the whole sample of workers, 2.8% for public sector workers and 4.0% for private sector workers. Artz and Kaya (2014) explain that as a result of many austerity policies implemented to reduce government expenditure during the economic recession, workers in the public sector may for the first time face worsening perceptions of job security which can have significant implications for their well-being (Artz and Kaya, 2014). This can be observed in the marginal effects where job insecurity negatively impacts the well-being of public sector workers in Ireland. However, in accordance with Luechinger et al. (2010a) the results show that private sector workers are more adversely impacted by economic insecurity than public sector workers. This suggests that in a time of high economic volatility, the institution of public sector employment held and was able to protect workers against some of the well-being consequences of rising insecurity. In estimating the relationship between subjective well-being and economic insecurity advanced econometric issues arise. The results show that when selection bias is corrected for, any statistically significant relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction disappears for public sector workers. Additionally, in order to correct for endogeneity bias the simultaneous equations model for job satisfaction and job insecurity is estimated by Limited Information and Full Information Methods. The results from two different estimators classified as Limited Information Methods support the general findings of this research. Moreover, the magnitude of the endogeneity-corrected estimates are twice as large as those not corrected for endogeneity bias which is similarly found in Geishecker (2010, 2012). As part of the analysis into the effect of economic insecurity on subjective well-being, the effects of other socioeconomic variables and work-related variables are examined for public and private sector workers in Ireland.

¿Costumbre o Reacción? El efecto de ser víctima de delitos y corrupción en la satisfacción con la vida de los colombianos

Colombia ha sido un país con una larga historia de violencia y corrupción, por lo que se hace importante analizar la relación entre la victimización de dichos delitos sufrida por los individuos y su percepción de satisfacción con la vida. Se utiliza información entre 2004 y 2014 contenida en LAPOP, a manera de secciones transversales repetidas. Con el fin de encontrar dicho efecto, se estima robustamente un modelo probabilístico ordenado, en donde los resultados sugieren que la victimización del último año reduce en 6.7 puntos porcentuales la probabilidad de sentirse muy satisfecho con la vida y el haber sido víctima de algún soborno en 5 puntos porcentuales.

REVIEW OF FACTORS AFFECTING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE UNIVERSITIES

Purpose – The focus of this research is to find out a meaningful relationship between adopting sustainability practices and some of the characteristics of institutions of higher education (IHE). IHE can be considered as the best place to promote sustainability and develop the culture of sustainability in society. Thus, this research is conducted to help developing sustainability in IHE which have significant direct and indirect impact on society and the environment. Design/methodology/approach – First, the sustainability letter grades were derived from “Greenreportcard.org” which have been produced based on an evaluation of each school in nine main categories including: Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food & Recycling, etc. In the next step, the characteristics of IHE as explanatory variables were chosen from “The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System” (IPEDS) and respective database was implemented in STATA Software. Finally, the “ordered-Probit Model” is used through STATA to analyze the impact of some IHE’s factor on adopting sustainability practices on campus. Finding - The results of this analysis indicate that variables related to “Financial support” category are the most influential factors in determining the sustainability status of the university. “The university features” with two significant variables for “Selectivity” and “Top 50 LA” can be classified as the second influential category in this table, although the “Student influence” is also eligible to be ranked as the second important factor. Finally, the “Location feature” of university was determined with the least influential impact on the sustainability of campuses. Originality/value – Understanding the factors which influence adopting sustainability practices in IHE is an important issue to develop more effective sustainability’s methods and policies.

Em Algorithm for MLE of a Probit Model for Multiple Ordinal Outcomes

The correlated probit model is frequently used for multiple ordered data since it allows to incorporate seamlessly different correlation structures. The estimation of the probit model parameters based on direct maximization of the limited information maximum likelihood is a numerically intensive procedure. We propose an extension of the EM algorithm for obtaining maximum likelihood estimates for a correlated probit model for multiple ordinal outcomes. The algorithm is implemented in the free software environment for statistical computing and graphics R. We present two simulation studies to examine the performance of the developed algorithm. We apply the model to data on 121 women with cervical or endometrial cancer. Patients developed normal tissue reactions as a result of post-operative external beam pelvic radiotherapy. In this work we focused on modeling the effects of a genetic factor on early skin and early urogenital tissue reactions and on assessing the strength of association between the two types of reactions. We established that there was an association between skin reactions and polymorphism XRCC3 codon 241 (C>T) (rs861539) and that skin and urogenital reactions were positively correlated. ACM Computing Classification System (1998): G.3.

The Applicability Of Ordered Mesoporous Sba-15 And Its Hydrophobic Glutaraldehyde-bridge Derivative To Improve Ibuprofen-loading In Releasing System.

The mesoporous SBA-15 silica with uniform hexagonal pore, narrow pore size distribution and tuneable pore diameter was organofunctionalized with glutaraldehyde-bridged silylating agent. The precursor and its derivative silicas were ibuprofen-loaded for controlled delivery in simulated biological fluids. The synthesized silicas were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, (13)C and (29)Si solid state NMR spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffractometry, thermogravimetry and scanning electron microscopy. Surface functionalization with amine containing bridged hydrophobic structure resulted in significantly decreased surface area from 802.4 to 63.0 m(2) g(-1) and pore diameter 8.0-6.0 nm, which ultimately increased the drug-loading capacity from 18.0% up to 28.3% and a very slow release rate of ibuprofen over the period of 72.5h. The in vitro drug release demonstrated that SBA-15 presented the fastest release from 25% to 27% and SBA-15GA gave near 10% of drug release in all fluids during 72.5 h. The Korsmeyer-Peppas model better fits the release data with the Fickian diffusion mechanism and zero order kinetics for synthesized mesoporous silicas. Both pore sizes and hydrophobicity influenced the rate of the release process, indicating that the chemically modified silica can be suggested to design formulation of slow and constant release over a defined period, to avoid repeated administration.

Phase transitions and spatially ordered counterion association in ionic-lipid membranes: A statistical model

We propose a statistical model to account for the gel-fluid anomalous phase transitions in charged bilayer- or lamellae-forming ionic lipids. The model Hamiltonian comprises effective attractive interactions to describe neutral-lipid membranes as well as the effect of electrostatic repulsions of the discrete ionic charges on the lipid headgroups. The latter can be counterion dissociated (charged) or counterion associated (neutral), while the lipid acyl chains may be in gel (low-temperature or high-lateral-pressure) or fluid (high-temperature or low-lateral-pressure) states. The system is modeled as a lattice gas with two distinct particle types-each one associated, respectively, with the polar-headgroup and the acyl-chain states-which can be mapped onto an Ashkin-Teller model with the inclusion of cubic terms. The model displays a rich thermodynamic behavior in terms of the chemical potential of counterions (related to added salt concentration) and lateral pressure. In particular, we show the existence of semidissociated thermodynamic phases related to the onset of charge order in the system. This type of order stems from spatially ordered counterion association to the lipid headgroups, in which charged and neutral lipids alternate in a checkerboard-like order. Within the mean-field approximation, we predict that the acyl-chain order-disorder transition is discontinuous, with the first-order line ending at a critical point, as in the neutral case. Moreover, the charge order gives rise to continuous transitions, with the associated second-order lines joining the aforementioned first-order line at critical end points. We explore the thermodynamic behavior of some physical quantities, like the specific heat at constant lateral pressure and the degree of ionization, associated with the fraction of charged lipid headgroups.

Spin dynamics of NiCl(2)-4SC(NH(2))(2) in the field-induced ordered phase

NiCl(2)-4SC(NH(2))(2) (known as DTN) is a spin-1 material with a strong single-ion anisotropy that is regarded as a new candidate for Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of spin degrees of freedom. We present a systematic study of the low-energy excitation spectrum of DTN in the field-induced magnetically ordered phase by means of high-field electron spin resonance measurements at temperatures down to 0.45 K. We argue that two gapped modes observed in the experiment can be consistently interpreted within a four-sublattice antiferromagnet model with a finite interaction between two tetragonal subsystems and unbroken axial symmetry. The latter is crucial for the interpretation of the field-induced ordering in DTN in terms of BEC.

Photonic Band Gaps in One-Dimensionally Ordered Cold Atomic Vapors

We experimentally investigate the Bragg reflection of light at one-dimensionally ordered atomic structures by using cold atoms trapped in a laser standing wave. By a fine-tuning of the periodicity, we reach the regime of multiple reflection due to the refractive index contrast between layers, yielding an unprecedented high reflectance efficiency of 80%. This result is explained by the occurrence of a photonic band gap in such systems, in accordance with previous predictions.